Ishmael says, “I would try desperately to think
about my childhood, but I couldn't. The war
memories had formed a barrier that I had to
break in order to think about my life before
the war” (149). And references this again
later on p.160 claiming he gets flashbacks,
headaches, and nightmares.
• What does he mean by this? Why do you
think he cannot remember before the war?

a long way gone

He’s traumatized by what’s been going on in war. As humans, we tend to never forget the bad things that happen to us. However, when it’s something good we want to remember, there are little snippets of that good memory. That’s possibly why he gets flashbacks and nightmares. He gets a little snippet of his good memories, while he’s dreaming, and gets scared. He gets scared because, when he tries to remember the good memories purposely, it’s difficult for him. This is the best possible answer I can give

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